Other LanguagesA warning to anyone who uses the Internet for phone service: make sure that your service provider knows your current address.
A Canadian baby died this past weekend when an ambulance was sent to the family's old house more than 2,000 miles away. The family called 911 from their Internet phone. Their call was sent to a dispatch center near Toronto but the family had moved to Calgary. They reportedly had changed their billing address, but not their 911 address.
Problems can also occur if you take your phone out of town. According to this TV news report, a Bakersfield, Calif., resident accidentally called 911 from an Internet phone. The address showed up on the dispatcher's computer. But when the dispatcher called back they found out the person was traveling in Belize.
Jeff Robertson, executive director of the 911 Industry Alliance, said in an interview Wednesday with InformationWeek that the issue is reaching crisis proportions. "The problem is that consumer technology has surpassed the 911 technology," he said. "Ninety-five percent of 911 call centers are analog (-based). Emergency data gets stripped out."